Corona war erupts as Germany, Canada accuse US of hijacking supplies

Germany and Canada are among countries that are accusing the United States of virtually hijacking much-coveted medical material that are in short supply in the global war on the coronavirus, aggravating Washington’s already testy ties with some of its major allies.

WASHINGTON: Germany and Canada are among countries that are accusing the United States of virtually hijacking much-coveted medical material that are in short supply in the global war on the coronavirus, aggravating Washington’s already testy ties with some of its major allies.

In what appeared to be an unprecedented international heist, the Trump White House reportedly authorized a “diversion” to US from Bangkok airport of a flight carrying 200,000 N95 face masks bound for Germany, causing Berlin to go apoplectic and accuse Washington of “modern piracy.”

The masks were manufactured in China by the US company 3M which been contracted by Berlin for the consignment meant for its police. 3M has been under fire from Trump, purportedly for its extra-territorial loyalties in time of crisis, although like with many US companies, manufacturing in China for the international market is part of its global supply chain norm.

But the Trump administration, which famously proclaimed a “America First” policy, is now pulling out all stops to secure medical supplies after it has been brutally exposed for its lax initial response to the pandemic, the country's lack of manufacturing capability (which Trump blames on his predecessors) and the shallowness of its national strategic reserves of such material.

Coming on the heels of earlier reports that the Trump White House had tried to by a German pharmaceutical company CureVac, which is said to be on the verge of a breakthrough in developing a coronavirus vaccine, the incident has sourced an already tetchy relationship between the two countries.

"We view this as an act of modern piracy. Even in times of global crisis there should be no wild west methods. I am urging the [German] federal government to demand the USA. respect international rules," Andreas Geisel, the interior minister for Berlin state, told the local media.

Other countries, including Canada and Brazil have also complained that the US is outbidding them, and in some cases usurping contractually obligated supplies for itself, and warned it does not augur well for ties.

In fact, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went so far as to caution that that trade "goes both ways across the border," referring obliquely to the thousands of nurses and other crucial personnel who commute each day across the border (for instance from Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, Michigan, which is the new US hot-spot).

"These are things that Americans rely on, and it would be a mistake to create blockages or reduce the amount of back-and-forth trade of essential goods and services, including medical goods, across our border," he warned.

But Trump couldn’t care less given the pressure at home, where his administration is under fire every day for its visibly poor response to the ground situation, which is at variance to daily proclamations from the White House lectern.

Amid relentless exposes in sections of the media (derided by his supporters as “liberal” and “anti-Trump”) about how the White House was ill-prepared for the contagion despite many alerts and warnings, the President has trained his guns on companies such as 3M, invoking the Defense Production Act to force them to manufacture specific goods such as masks and ventilators for domestic use amid the crisis.

"We hit 3M hard today after seeing what they were doing with their Masks. Big surprise to many in government as to what they were doing - will have a big price to pay!”"Trump tweeted on Thursday, later letting it be known that he is "not happy with 3M" without elaborating.

The company on its part has suggested it was only complying with its contractual obligations and cautioned that such violations on its part could eventually hurt the US

Meanwhile, spats continue within the US too between WashingtonDC and state administrations, where governors are constantly complaining and contesting Trump’s daily claims that everything is hunky-dory with supplies.

In fact, even within the US, states have had to bid against each other in auctions to secure material, leading to public outrage at the capitalist model in the time of crisis.

On Thursday, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has been pushed to the forefront of handling supplies, ignited a firestorm by asserting that "The notion of the federal stockpile was it's supposed to be our stockpile. It's not supposed to be states stockpiles that they then use," when referring to states’ claim to medical supplies from the national reserve.

Questioned what he meant by "ours," Trump got into a testy exchange with a CBS reporter, calling her question "nasty" – his standard refrain now when he is asked uncomfortable questions -- and asserting "ours" meant it belonged to the United States and the federal government controlled the reserves so that it could be distributed properly to the states on a critical need basis.

Sponsored Stories

Subscribe to our Newsletters

When the blood reaches these curves, it makes changes to its fluid mechanics and interactions with the vessel wall. In a healthy person, these changes are in harmony with the tortuous microenvironment, but when diseased, these environments could lead to very complex flow conditions that activate proteins and cells that eventually lead to blood clots.